RealNetworks bringing RealPlayer to Linux-powered netbooks

The company announced today that they've signed agreements with Canonical, Xandros, Phoenix, and DeviceVM to license RealPlayer for Mobile Devices for Linux-powered netbooks, including both Linux OS and upcoming Linux Instant-On OS varieties.

Just like the rest of us, RealNetworks is finding it tough to ignore all the netbook hype--and they plan to do something about it. The company announced today that they've signed agreements with Canonical, Xandros, Phoenix, and DeviceVM to license RealPlayer for Mobile Devices for Linux-powered netbooks, including both Linux OS and upcoming Linux Instant-On OS varieties. That means the next Dell Inspiron netbook running Ubuntu could come with RealPlayer.

Real already had agreements in place with BenQ (for its JoyBook Lite), as well as Lenovo for its mobile internet device (MID) line. Back in March, Real announced a deal with Google that asks anyone installing RealPlayer if they want to also install Google's shiny Chrome browser. In addition, a number of Nokia unlocked smartphones we've reviewed recently have come with built-in RealPlayer clients for watching video on the go. Meanwhile, a Computerworld article points out that the new Linux version of RealPlayer still can't play Flash or DVDs, meaning that watching Hulu or YouTube will still be out of the question.

I've yet to live down RealPlayer's various missteps over the years, including installers that took over every media type on your system without asking first--or more recently, behaving like malware and also installing Rhapsody, again without asking. But hey, it's your netbook.